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21 August, 2012

Top 10 Modern Day Hollywood Film Directors

Hollywood has been at the forefront of
world cinema since production first set up home there in the early 1900s. Unsurprisingly,
it has seen some of the greatest filmmakers work in its warm and sunny
Californian climate. A top 10 list of the best film directors of all time would
surely include the likes of Alfred Hitchcock (you can see his top 10 films
here), Stanley Kubrick, John Ford and Billy Wilder. But how does the new
crop compare? In modern cinema, the period following the American New Wave of
the 1970s, which directors are worthy of being spoken of with the same high
esteem?

10. Judd Apatow

Judd
Apatow quietly went about his business as a producer on many high profile, and
enjoyable, comedies before his name became recognised thanks to The 40-Year-Old
Virgin. He’s taken on the role vacated by the Farrelly brothers and run with
it. Films such as Knocked Up, Funny People, and the Apatow-produced Bridemaids
have dominated the mainstream comedy film market for several years.

9. David Fincher

David
Fincher’s films Fight Club and Seven are two of the most popular films in
best-of film polls made around the world. These films alone make him one of Hollywood’s best
directors but he has achieved high-quality consistency throughout his films.
Even the once derided Alien 3 has turned critics around as it has aged,
becoming one of the best science-fiction films of the 1990s. He most recently brought
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s life to the big screen in The Social Network
and adapted acclaimed novel The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

8. James Cameron

James
Cameron announced his return to filmmaking with, what has quickly become, the most
successful movie ever made – Avatar, which took over four years to make. With
Titanic under his belt twelve years earlier, Cameron finally solidified himself
as the most commercial filmmaker in the history of Hollywood. His other classics include The
Terminator and The Terminator 2, The Abyss, and True Lies.

7. Peter Jackson

Peter
Jackson is now known for his three-hour epic fantasy films – his remake of King
Kong and the Lord of the Rings trilogy clock in at nearly fifteen hours of
entertainment. Before he became a household name he did make quirky and often
dark comedy-horror films such as The Frighteners and Braindead. He’ll next hit
the big screen with The Hobbit.

6. Paul Thomas Anderson

Paul
Thomas Anderson, is another, like Peter Jackson, who likes to make movies that
break the three-hour mark. The difference is that Anderson sticks to less mainstream
storylines, preferring to practice his art over commercial viability. He made
the superb There Will Be Blood in 2007, but is more recognised for his ensemble
films Boogie Nights and Magnolia.

5. Alexander Payne

Alexander
Payne is the best character-driven director on this list. His films are beautifully
constructed character pieces, usually concerning oddball or quirky men and
women who seem alienated from their social circle. His greatest achievement is
the brilliant Sideways, but he’s also made the equally impressive About Schmidt
and Election. His most recent film, The Descendants, stars George Clooney as a
father trying to keep the family together after his wife has a boating
accident.

4. Wes Anderson

Wes
Anderson (no relation to Paul) is a director of black comedies about strange
but wonderful characters often in an almost surreal setting. His debut film
Bottle Rocket became a huge cult hit while Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums
earned him critical success. He has now achieved massive commercial success
with George Clooney-starring stop-motion animated film Fantastic Mr. Fox.

3. Martin Scorsese

There’s
no denying Martin Scorsese is one of the world’s best auteur directors. Since
he burst onto Hollywood’s
radar with the Robert De Niro/Harvey Keitel-starring Mean Streets, he has
consistently turned out original and provocative work. Some of his most notable
films include Goodfellas, The Departed, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Gangs of New
York, and Casino.

2. Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan has
become Hollywood’s most visionary yet commercial director. Memento, the
film that introduced most people to his work, became a film critic’s darling
and an audience favourite following its release depicting a unique, backwards
narrated story. Nolan set the bar high. Other directors would have crumbled
under the pressure to live up to the expectation. However, he has returned to
the big screen with films that get better and better. The Prestige, about two
warring magicians is still my favourite, yet Nolan really stamped his authority
with his Batman trilogy. The Dark Knight, the second film of the series, is
surely now one of the best sequels ever made. To also have the marvellous
Inception in his filmography is testament to the amazing work of his fabulous
filmmaker.

1. Steven Spielberg

Commercial
success and critical acceptance is something every filmmaker wants but few
receive. Steven Spielberg achieved both. Learning his trade making television
drama, he caught people’s attention with the TV movie Duel. The film was so
well received it was given a theatrical release. This allowed him to make his
first fully-fledged feature film The Sugarland Express. What followed was a
string of commercial and critical successes – Jaws, Close Encounters of The
Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List,
A.I. Artificial Intelligence, and War of the Worlds, among many others.

Daniel Stephens feeds his unhealthy obsession
with the top 10 list by overseeing proceedings at Top10Films.co.uk as founder and editor.

Thanks Dan for an excellent list. I think Spielberg is one of the greatest directors of our time. I respect him even more because he is a great producer as well. As for Apatow I am now so sure (not a huge fan). But, as you would have found out through twitter by now I think you will have some major explaining to do for not including Nolan in the list :-)